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Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Whole chicken, slow-roasted in a covered Dutch oven, with bacon, onion & potatoes. Add a nice garden salad & a loaf of warmed French bread for sopping up those marvelous pan juices.

Chicken in a Pot

I happened to catch whole chickens on sale for 67 cents a pound recently, so of course I stocked up on a few and had in mind one of them would land as another form of roasted chicken for the Sunday Supper series for sure. But, as I do sometimes, about mid-stream of beginning to prep the chicken for roasting, I decided to pull down Julia Child's cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and do something different.

Though it's been around forever, Dorie Greenspan sort of brought Chicken in a Pot back to the forefront with the release of her cookbook Around My French Table and the gorgeous pastry sealed version that graces the cover. Julia Child called this type of trussed chicken, first browned in butter and then roasted in a covered casserole with a mixture of vegetables, herbs and seasonings, Casserole-Roasted Chicken. There are several versions in her cookbook, including this one with bacon, onion and potatoes.

Though I admittedly took quite a few liberties with her recipe, she was still the inspiration behind this dish, sometimes also known more simply as Pot Roasted Chicken. Remember the Braun Bon Smothered Potatoes I posted not long ago? The potatoes that accompany this roasted chicken are somewhat reminiscent of those, except that these are cooked alongside a casserole roasted chicken, and smothered with onions and bacon, instead of the smoked sausage. The potatoes are infused with several layers of flavors and are simply marvelous.

I've actually made this pot roasted chicken a couple of times, even once remembering about 20 minutes after I stuck everything in the oven that I'd forgotten to brown it! The browning adds color, but truth is, it's kind of awkward to brown the whole chicken, I don't have a lot of patience, and I really didn't see a significant difference between the two in the finished product anyway, so I think either way would work fine. Even if a tad bit pale in color, the chicken will still be delicious. I do think browning it in a separate shallow skillet is easier, though you will lose the fond, unless you deglaze the pan and add it to the chicken roasting pot.

Chicken in a Pot - cut into ten pieces and served with the potatoes, onion and bacon on the side on my Blue Willow platter - time to eat!

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To 6 cups of cool, filtered water, add the brown sugar and kosher salt. Whisk until everything is dissolved; add in the thyme and peppercorns. Place the chicken into a gallon sized zippered bag and pour the brine over the chicken. Seal and place into a container in the refrigerator for about 3 hours, or up to 12 hours.

Casserole:

1 (4-5 pound) whole chicken

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

3 cloves of garlic, smashed & peel removed

5 slices of bacon

1 cup of sliced onion

1 tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil

3 tablespoons of butter, softened at room temperature, divided

2 pounds of potatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1/4 cup of water

2 sprigs of fresh parsley

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 small bay leaves

1 loaf of French bread

Instructions

Prepare the brine and add the chicken at least 3 hours before cooking. Before cooking, rinse well and pat dry with paper towels. Season the chicken cavity generously with salt and pepper and stuff the smashed garlic into the cavity; truss the chicken and set aside.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Slice bacon into the bottom of a large skillet and lightly brown. Add onion and cook until slightly softened. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon and onion to a Dutch oven. Add the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter to the pan drippings in the skillet and add the chicken, browning on all sides, about 15 minutes total; remove and transfer to the Dutch oven. To the pan drippings in the skillet add the potatoes, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Add water and bring to a boil. Cover the skillet and boil the potatoes for about 3 to 4 minutes to steam them. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the potatoes; toss to coat completely. Transfer the potatoes to the Dutch oven, placing them around the chicken.

Sprinkle chicken with salt, add the parsley, thyme, and bay leaves; cover and place into the oven. Cook at 325 degrees F, covered, basting a couple of times with the pan juices, for about 1-1/4 to 1 hour 40 minutes, depending on the size chicken, or until chicken is cooked through. Carefully remove the chicken to a carving board, tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes; cut into serving pieces.

If serving with French bread, while the chicken rests, turn the oven up to 400 degrees F, wrap French bread in aluminum foil and place in oven until warmed through. Transfer the chicken pieces to a platter, and using a slotted spoon, remove the potatoes and onion, placing those on the side of the chicken or in a separate serving dish. Pour the pan juices all over the top of the chicken, saving some to spoon over the individual servings, if desired. Remove and slice the hot French bread and use it to sop up the juices. Serve with a side salad or green vegetable.

Cook's Note: You can use butcher's twine to tie together fresh thyme, parsley, and bay leaf, if you prefer.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

Mary, I've never tried to brown a whole chicken, but I would for this recipe. I know my family will love this dish. I'll just make a side of greens or string beans and a some cucumbers/onions/tomatoes in a light vinaigrette. This reminds me of Sunday Dinners of days gone by. Thank you so much for sharing.Me and my neighbor were talking one day about the times when you could walk down the street and smell what folks were cooking. You knew who was baking rolls, peach cobbler, fried chicken, collards. I miss those times, Mary. This recipe makes me think about those days.

I made this for supper tonight and it was phenomenal. The buttery, bacon-y potatoes were a hit with all the boys, and there was nothing left but bones on the chicken. Really one of my top favs from this site!

Hi Kristin! You certainly could, and if I were open roasting this bird I would, but in this case I wouldn't. As it pot roasts, the bouquet of herbs is intended to flavor the entire dish, including the potatoes, rather than just the cavity of the chicken. You can tie them together to make it a bit more neat, but I didn't bother!

A reader just shared what she did over on the Facebook page so I'll paste it in for you:

"Mary, I tried this last night with some chicken breasts (with ribs attached) ... I didn't have any bacon but I had some bacon grease in the fridge, so after brining (about 5 hours), I browned the onion, garlic, chicken and potatoes in a little bacon grease (no butter or oil), seasoned it all, and then put everything in a large roasting pan and baked for an hour and a half. It was SO GOOD!!!! The chicken breasts were moist and juicy and everything had a wonderful flavor. THANK YOU -- this recipe is a keeper (and I can't wait to see how the chicken tastes cold ... yummm!!!)."

I tried this last night but I doubled the recipe and cut the chicken up before cooking it. It was wonderful! My husband loved it, my oldest daughter got 2nds (which she never does) and my 9yr old said, "I feel sorry for all the people in the world that don't get to eat this wonderful meal tonight." Lol, thanks for such wonderful recipes!

Thank you Jon! Aren't those potatoes so good??!! It's something a little different to do from regular roasted which I love. I'm so glad y'all enjoyed it & thank you so much especially for taking the time to come back and let me know!! I really do appreciate that.

The Dutch oven provides a certain level of constant heat & also drips back onto the chicken & potatoes, but I think you could achieve something very similar with a multi-layered foil covered deep casserole dish or even a good sturdy oven safe pot covered tightly.

Thanks for taking the time to comment - I love hearing from readers and I read every single comment and try to respond to them right here on the site, so stop back by!

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You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients. ~Julia Child

The classic southern plate for supper is made up of meat and three, cornbread or rolls & a tall glass of sweet iced tea.

Oftentimes what makes a recipe southern, is as much a state of mind as it is a matter of geography - Southerners simply decide a particular food is southern, and that's that." ~Rick McDaniel, Food Historian

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